**Authors Note – The events depicted in this story will happen. They have been foretold in scripture. The exact timing and chronology of some of these post-rapture events have been a topic of debate among Bible scholars. It is the considered opinion of this writer that the events recorded in Isaiah 17:1 – the destruction of Damascus, and the Ezekiel coalition invasion of Israel as recorded in Ezekiel 38-39, are events that will occur after the rapture, but before the confirmation of the covenant between the Antichrist and Israel. The post rapture confirmation of a covenant is the event that begins the seven-year countdown. The exact timing of the destruction of Elam, recorded in Jeremiah 49:34-38, is less clear. For the purpose of this story, I have chosen to include it in the same short interim period between the rapture of the Church and the beginning of the Tribulation.**

PART 2 – THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows”

(Matthew 24:7-8 KJV).

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer”

(Revelation 6:1-2 KJV)

CHAPTER 19

Journal Entry

Sunday, November 3, 2019

In the weeks before Trail, Mitch and I made our last weekend trip up to Yellow Top that weekend of October 25th, the world had changed dramatically. Our futures were uncertain. In just a few short weeks, the events that we had witnessed and the knowledge of those yet to come had changed everything; not just for us, but for the entire world. God only knows when or if I will ever see my mountain home again.

We spent the previous weeks getting settled into our new home in Doc Barnett’s house. I wanted to wait until I had the time to record all that we’ve learned since that first meeting at what we now call the New Hope Church Community Center. At that first post-rapture church service on the morning of October 13, we still had no confirmation that the ‘event’ as some were calling it, was what we believers were convinced had been the rapture of the Church. Although, at the time of the morning service, it was as yet unconfirmed from outside sources to have been the global event we knew it would be, we got our confirmation at 7:00 PM that evening.

On Friday the 11th after the power had returned that previous Monday night, all television stations did come back on the air; but from Friday to Sunday, the only thing broadcast by all the stations was one message. That one announcement remained on the air until Sunday evening. It read:

TELEVISED COMMUNICATIONS WILL RESUME SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 – THE PRESIDENT WILL ADDRESS THE NATION AT 8PM EASTERN 7PM CENTRAL TIME

We got our confirmation that this was indeed the global event we already knew it was on that Sunday evening when the television stations came back on the air to broadcast the president’s address to the nation. We still did not as yet have a functioning internet, but we were told via an Emergency Alert System message that was broadcast intermittently before and after the president’s speech that all internet and online forums would shortly be operational sometime the following week. This EAS announcement also carried the ominous caveat that in the interests of national and global security, certain changes would be implemented once the internet was brought back online.

My friends and I, especially Mitch, held a growing suspicion that the internet we would have post-rapture would be vastly different and much more restrictive than it had been before the rapture. Mitch strongly suspected that the new worldwide web would be fully controlled with regard to both content and accessibility. He reminded us that, even before the rapture, Christian and conservative content on all forms of social media, including the big search engines, was already being purged and censored – a charge he said he scoffed at before he was saved, but one he fully recognized as being true after the rapture and his salvation. We had no doubt now that the entire global media would be even more managed than before; its content heavily skewed to promote a globalist agenda now that the true Church was gone.

New Hope’s first post-rapture church service the morning of Sunday, October 13, began with a full crowd in attendance. It appeared that there were almost as many people who came that Sunday as had shown up the previous Wednesday, the day of the first town meeting. New Hope Church and Community Center boasted a full house.

Pastor Will did an excellent job giving a detailed overview of the rapture of the missing Church, and a general overview of what to expect in the coming Tribulation. He also detailed what the event would be that would mark the beginning or starting point of the last seven years before Jesus returns to earth. He explained about Israel’s pivotal role in these days. He prepared us to watch for and recognize specific events that would signal the beginning of the Tribulation. He reminded us that, above all, the biggest danger we faced was strong delusion and deception.

To those of us who are saved, he encouraged us to believe and follow God’s word emphatically. He strongly warned those who were still unbelievers, reminding them that if they continued on in unbelief, they would be deceived; they would believe the lie that would soon be put forth to deceive the entire world; they would succumb to the lies of the coming great deceiver – the man who will be the Antichrist. He reminded everyone to pay close attention to what the president had to say and to filter everything through the prophetic lens of scripture.

At the end of that service, there were several more who entered God’s family; those whose belief in Jesus changed the destiny of their souls from Hell to Heaven. Among the ones who became believers that first Sunday were both the Duncan girls, Lilly and Byllie; Carter Grant; an older woman in her early fifties named Izzy Blake; and two other men whom I didn’t know well. It really bothered me that Eva, Dewey, Rod Weaver, and Vinny Sawyer hadn’t yet chosen to believe. All we could do was continue to pray for them.

That evening, most of ‘our gang’ as we had begun to think of ourselves, were gathered in Eva’s old house on Railroad Street which was now, I guess, the girls’ new house. The house was a big, old farmhouse with large, light-filled rooms, comfortable and airy. Eva had kept it as neat as a pin. Downstairs had a big kitchen, an even bigger dining room, and a huge parlor with plenty of room for us to all fit comfortably. It was such a big rambling house, no wonder Eva hadn’t wanted to stay here alone anymore, now that the farm was free to her. We decided that this would be the meeting place for our gang since we were quickly outgrowing Mike’s store and little apartment.

Among us there that evening besides Trail, Mitch, and myself were Clyde, Mike, Will, Sarah, Lilly, Byllie, and Carter. We discussed Will’s sermon and spent time planning the week ahead. At 6, Carter suggested we check the TV to see if anything besides that EAS announcement and the upcoming presidential address was broadcasting yet – nothing new was. Eva had only had a small TV which Carter had already carried back to the farm for Eva to keep in her room. The Duncan girls had a ginormous 50-inch wall- mounted monstrosity in the big ranch house they shared in Briarwood. After church, the guys and I nearly killed ourselves getting that thing off their wall and transporting it to the girls’ new place. After an hour of grunting and fussing, we finally got it mounted on the wall above Eva’s fireplace. It looked good there; and with Clyde, Mike, Mitch, Trail, Carter and myself working together, we managed to get it securely mounted without any loss of life or limb.

Once we had that task accomplished, the girls made us some sandwiches and iced tea. At 7:00 PM, we turned on the TV. We decided on Fox News and waited for the president to address the nation. We were informed that no news or broadcast information would be forthcoming until after his address. As we waited for the president to begin, we finished ironing out our plans for the next few days. We were jittery waiting to hear the president speak and give us the news that would confirm what we already knew. What we couldn’t have known was exactly how horrific the aftermath of the rapture really was.

Promptly at 7, the broadcast began with a stark shot of a dark blue curtained background before which the United States and presidential flags stood; one on either side flanking a slender podium bearing the Presidential Seal. There wasn’t the usual “Hail to the Chief” played as the president entered, nor did the Press Secretary announce him or field any questions. Our Commander in Chief entered the room quietly without fanfare; His expression was somber, his mood subdued as he took the podium. He began without preamble.

CHAPTER 20

THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

“Ladies and gentlemen of America. It is with a heavy heart that I address you tonight. Over the past eleven days, our nation, the entire world, has encountered a series of unprecedented events that have severely affected every nation on earth. I am, of course, referring to the mass disappearance of a vast number of people from every country around the world.

As far as we can determine at this time, not one country on all seven continents has escaped unscathed. Some countries and areas appear to have lost more citizens than others in what we will call ‘the great vanishing.’ It appears that the entire earth has been affected to one degree or another.

The cause of the event that resulted in mass disappearances of people from all over the globe is not known. The disappearances have not been limited to any particular region, but appear to have been a global phenomenon that occurred in the same instant of time, regardless of locale or time zone.

This anomaly that occurred in the early morning hours of Thursday, 3 October 2019, was also accompanied by an occurrence resembling an electromagnetic pulse.

Let me state emphatically that, although we do not yet know the cause or the full extent of the vanishings, nor do we yet know what the factors of commonality of those who vanished might have been, what we can say for certain is that every nation on earth to, one degree or another, has lost citizens in this event. In addition, it appears that…” Here the president paused for a second as his voice for the first time faltered. He cleared his throat and resumed.

“It appears that all children below approximately 14-15 years of age are also among the missing. The disappearance of children is being reported from every nation on earth. From what we can determine so far, children and infants – including the unborn still inside the womb, vanished. The children disappeared in the same instant as the yet undetermined number of adults. We are not yet able to quantify the full scope and magnitude that these interrelated events – the vanishings and the electromagnetic anomaly, have caused. However, the estimates we currently have of the number missing are…staggering.

The one thing that is clear is that the vanishings have been verified to have been global in scope. It is estimated that…” Here the president paused again, visibly shaken. As he resumed speaking, his voice shook with emotion.

“…a rough estimate of the global number who appear to have vanished in an instant stands at approximately 1 – 2 billion people worldwide, including children, and pre- and postnatal infants,” he said.

“Let me hasten to add that this is only an estimated number based on the limited data we have available so far. Not all of these people may have vanished; some may have perished in myriad post- vanishing disasters. Some of the missing may still be alive but as yet unaccounted for. Others may be injured or in hiding from the resultant chaos left in the wake of the disappearances and the EMP anomaly. Still others may be victims of any number of atrocities committed as a result of societal breakdown in the aftermath, this latter situation being an issue this administration intends to address immediately and decisively.

The EMP-like event that accompanied the vanishings was not, I repeat not the result of any known type of electromagnetic pulse.

There have been no solar events that have occurred, nor could any such solar event or weaponized EMP have caused a complete global disruption of all military infrastructure, power and communications grids everywhere simultaneously; neither have there been any high-altitude nuclear EMP detonations directed at the United States or any other country – at least none that has its source of origin on this planet.

Whatever the cause, the vanishings and the resultant loss of power seem to be related in a way in which we do not as yet understand.

As your president, I want to assure every citizen that the full force of the United States government is being brought to bear to bring a swift resolution to this situation. I am, along with all available global leaders, working closely together with the world’s leading scientists, engineers, weather experts, climatologists, geologists, and volcanologists. We are in contact with the agencies of NOAA, NASA, the DOJ, and the Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with the top men and women in every conceivably related scientific discipline. Each is working around the clock to attempt to uncover the cause of the vanishings and the week-long loss of the world’s power and communications grids.

In addition, we are issuing invitations to members of all scientific disciplines to work in collaboration with us. We are asking for all leading geopolitical organizations such as NATO, the UN, and the EU to join us. We are consulting with leading NGOs, and with top leaders from various global religious organizations as well. All of us are working together in concert to attempt to find the answers we seek. We are making every effort to conglomerate as a global community. We are determined to discover if possible, what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent such an event recurring in the future.

As yet, we do not have the answers to these questions; but let me hasten to say that, at this time, we have no indication that such an event will recur.

Let me reiterate; I wish to assure the American people that this administration, in conjunction with the global community, is working tirelessly to uncover the cause or causes of the vanishings and to do our utmost to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

It is now clear that, in addition to the disappearances, the second aspect of this anomalous event was the realization that – even though military, governmental, and national infrastructure, and those of other first-world countries had been protected with what we thought were sufficient safeguards and adequate precautions that were supposed to harden our infrastructure – this hardening which we thought was adequate, was not. All that we had prepared in defense of the vital areas of government, military, and national power and communications grids in the event of an electromagnetic pulse, failed – not just here but everywhere, from what we can determine. This event demonstrated to us that our current level of preparedness on a global scale has proven to be woefully inadequate.

Regardless of our best efforts to protect and harden our resources in the event of an EMP, none of the protection protocols that this or any other nation on earth had in place were effective.

We must now consider the possibility that the origin of these two events may lie… outside of this planet. We are in no way stating this as fact; still, the possibility exists, and we must be prudent in exploring all possibilities. 

The magnitude of this tragedy is so extensive that we cannot yet determine the full scope of all that has occurred since 3 October.

It is my further sad burden to inform you of the extent of damage these events have caused both here in the United States and around the world.

At or around the time of the vanishings and EMP anomaly, the following events occurred nearly simultaneously:

The area of the Pacific Northwest all the way from Northern California to British Columbia along the Cascadia Subduction Zone was devastated by an earthquake of an estimated 9.8-10.0 magnitude. At this time, it appears that the entire Cascadia Zone was involved. Because there has been no way to send first responders, or any way to verify the exact magnitude of the quake, the full force of the quake cannot yet be determined, nor can the extent of the damage be known, neither can an accurate accounting of the possible loss of life yet be determined. We can, however, give you our best estimates. This indescribably powerful earthquake has caused incalculable damage to the entire Western coast of the United States. As a direct result of this enormously powerful strike-slip earthquake, the upper Northwest of our continent may have dropped by as much as six to ten feet, thereby causing a rebound effect of possibly seventy-five to one hundred feet to the west. The Cascadia earthquake devastated and destabilized the entire West Coast. From there, the destruction has spread outward.

Thousands of homes, buildings, roads, tunnels, along with overpasses and bridges, including the bridges at Big Sur…” Here he paused again, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“…the Oakland Bay Bridge, and the Golden Gate have been destroyed. The magnitude of this quake appears to have triggered other at-risk fault lines. Whatever caused the anomalies appears to have triggered a cascading effect that has resulted in significant seismic activity all along the West Coast.

The damage extends all along the entire Pacific coast. There have been tsunamis, landslides, and multiple dam failures. Myriad and as yet uncontrollable fires are raging out of control along and within the affected areas. The loss of life and property damage is incalculable. The Cascadia event appears to have also triggered earthquake activity all along the Pacific Coast, causing multiple large-magnitude earthquakes along the Northridge, Hayward, and San Andreas fault lines. The city of San Francisco also experienced a large earthquake on the scale of or possibly exceeding the magnitude of the earthquake of 1906.

As a result, the city of San Francisco is largely on fire. The damage done to the entire West Coast may not be fully known for decades to come. The loss of life from the West Coast earthquake disasters is incomprehensible. An estimated 70-100 thousand lives are thought to have been lost in the initial quake alone, with up to 10 million, possibly more, left injured, homeless, and displaced along the American-Pacific coastline.

Because the Cascadia Subduction Zone also runs beneath the Pacific Ocean, this earthquake caused an enormous displacement of water, resulting in a monstrously high tsunami that has all but obliterated the entire coastline of Japan. In addition to the destruction along the American West Coast, the devastation from the effects of the Cascadia quake continues to ripple outward across the Pacific Rim, causing numerous tsunamis, more earthquakes, and impacting multiple volcanoes, causing volcanic eruptions across the world. Aftershocks and heightened volcanic activity are continuing as the planet’s seismic situation continues to remain highly unstable.

One bright spot is that, at least so far, the Pacific volcanoes of Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt Shasta and Mt Hood, along with the Yellowstone caldera are, at the moment, maintaining their current level of stability. We will continue to monitor these areas as closely as possible for signs of further destabilization.

Information is beginning to come in regarding large-scale earthquake activity across the globe. Earthquake activity of varying magnitudes is being reported in places as diverse as: Italy, Iran, Hawaii, Indonesia, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Mexico, along the Aleutian Islands from Alaska out into the Pacific Ocean itself. Chile, Japan, Turkey, New Zealand and parts of China and Southeast Asia are also being affected with earthquake activity. At the moment, any further information regarding the severity of these additional quakes or loss of life is as yet unknown and can only, at this time, be conjectured.

The entire earth, particularly along the Pacific Rim ‘Ring of Fire,’ has become completely destabilized. This could affect other fault lines across the globe as well as within the continental United States. Seismic zones such as the New Madrid Fault line and several smaller ones that make up the Brevard and Charleston, South Carolina, tectonic plates on the East Coast may also be at risk. At this time, though, none of these appear to be experiencing any disruptions as far as we are able to determine.

The current global loss of life as well as the continued loss of life from the aftermath of these disasters may well reach or exceed several hundred million more lives lost, not counting those who are estimated to have been among the vanished. At this point, we simply cannot know.

In the wake of this already inconceivable destruction, it is being reported that there has been widespread rioting, looting, and anarchy in all major US cities as well as in smaller cities and towns. The cities of New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Miami, and Orlando, among others, are all dealing with widespread anarchy. I want to state emphatically that this will stop immediately. Anarchy, violence, and chaos cannot and will not be tolerated. I intend to bring to bear any and every means available under Constitutional authority to bring such disgraceful and uncivilized behavior to an end quickly and permanently. Order and the rule of Law will be reestablished and maintained.

Because the cause and full extent of the anomaly that precipitated this is as yet not known event, and until we can determine the full effects of this event and gain control over the country again, I am hereby declaring the United States to be in a state of national emergency. As of today, October 13, 2019, as Commander in Chief of the United States of America, I am placing the entire United States under order of martial law. This order will remain in effect until such time as the president or any other Constitutionally mandated successor determines it safe to remove said declaration. This action goes into effect immediately and will be enforced by federal, state, and local authorities.

Within the next few hours, I will be video-conferencing with the Director of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Joint Chiefs, the Director of FEMA and the governors of each of the fifty states to coordinate our efforts to secure the safety and well-being of the citizens of the United States. I will also remain in constant contact with as many leaders of our fellow nations as possible.

The disastrous conditions we face are monumental but, as always, the will of the American people remains strong and resolute. We must now pull together as citizens of America and citizens of the world to rebuild a better, stronger, more united world. May God bless the United States of America and the citizens of the world.”

CHAPTER 21

We sat there stunned. Although we knew intellectually that, according to the Bible, the loss of life was going to be unimaginable, to actually hear it spoken from the president’s own mouth was like taking a hard hit to the solar plexus. The girls were crying; all of us felt sick. What normal person can comprehend loss of life on that scale? We were truly left speechless. After several minutes of stunned silence, Will spoke first.

“I have come to love each one of you as family, even in the short amount of time we’ve known each other. Throughout this time since the rapture, God has shown us such great mercy. He has brought us together and is knitting us together to become a family and a community of believers. I don’t even know how to begin or what to say except that we must come to grips in our minds and in our hearts that this kind of thing, I mean the enormity of such things, are going to become the new norm from now on until the end of these last seven years.

We are already, or very soon will be, entering the actual Tribulation. From now on, we must determine in our minds and hearts to remain faithful to take our stand, by God’s grace and strength alone, to become a true family of Tribulation saints. From now on, we must live every second of our lives in a continual attitude of prayer asking our Lord to give us strength, wisdom, discernment, and courage to remain faithful – even unto death. We will need the wisdom of the Lord to guide us as to whom to trust, what to do, and where to go from now on. We all know what we will be facing, but I want us to once again take an unflinching look at what God tells us we will encounter in the beginning of the sorrows we will soon be facing. I’m going to read the first few verses of the sixth chapter of Revelation.

From these verses, I want us to make sure we understand clearly what will shortly come to pass. If it hasn’t begun already, we soon will be living through the events of the first four seals which, from what I can understand, will happen in rather rapid succession.”

Will turned to His Bible and began reading.

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:1-8 KJV).

“The coming horrors,” said Will, “are very real, I want us to never forget that we will not, indeed, we CANNOT rely upon our strength alone, nor do we need to rely on our own frailty. Every step of the way, until Jesus sets His foot upon the earth again in about seven years’ time – no matter what happens – by His grace, we must all trust Him to help us stay faithful, even unto death. Let’s pray.”

alice.joan.childs@gmail.com

CHAPTER 17

We spent the rest of Wednesday gathering the supplies we would need for the body-removal expedition. We gathered sheets, rugs, blankets, heavy-duty trash bags, plastic grocery bags, boxes and boxes of rubber gloves, about twelve bottles of Vicks®, about 50 face-mask air filters, and 6-8 huge bottles of bleach. We were fortunate that the mortuary had two gurneys and their body retrieval hearse/van. That was going to make body transport much easier. Pete Grey and Vern Sadler were going to remain at the mortuary and handle things from that end, along with four more men who volunteered to help them. Their job would continue long after we had finished.

Come Thursday morning, I had half expected that many of the volunteers would back out at the last minute after having had time to reconsider; but, once again, I was wrong. Everyone who volunteered yesterday did show up at the church this morning, including a few who hadn’t volunteered at the meeting. All told, we had 37, not counting Pete, Vern and the others back at Grey’s.

I won’t go into all the grizzly details. I’ll just say that the job was as horrific as we thought, maybe more. Still, with everyone who came, it went much smoother than we could have ever hoped. After the bodies were removed, we had ‘disinfecting crews’ who went in and poured bleach wherever needed. Then we padlocked the houses and spray painted ‘CONTAMINATION ZONE’ on each place with black paint.

We ended up having to deal with a few more bodies than we at first thought. I had been right; some of the young parents who had lost children had indeed given up all hope and ended things themselves. Among them were the young man and his wife whom I had met on Monday. Both of them it looked like had taken a bottle of pills with a bottle of wine chaser. We found them and the others who took the quick way out. We knew where to check because we had noted places where we were worried about residents whom we thought might be suicidal. In all, we found five more bodies in addition to the 23 we already knew about, bringing the total post-rapture death toll to 28.

The thing that haunted me most wasn’t the state of their bodies, but knowing that, because they had been left behind like we had, it meant that they weren’t believers to begin with. Did any of them, I wondered, come to salvation before they died? Only God knew, but the chances were low. All those who died lost, their souls were now and forever in Hell. I couldn’t shake that thought. The realization that this could have been my fate or the fate of the friends I loved at any time before we became believers, shook me to my core. It made me more committed than ever to do whatever I can to bring as many people as possible who are willing to believe salvation.

We were finished around 4:30 Thursday afternoon. Afterwards, we went back to the Pines so everyone could grab a shower and another change of clothes. We met back at Mike’s apartment. There were a few things we needed to iron out among the group of us. We invited Lilly Duncan and her twin sister Byllie to join us back at Mike’s. The Duncan twins are a little older than us, around 30 or 31 maybe. Lilly is the nurse who had worked with Doc Barnett at the clinic. Byllie, her twin, had worked in Iverson as a loan officer at the bank where my father once worked. Lilly, of course, was part of N’ville’s new medical clinic staff; Byllie had volunteered to help Eva and Mike with organizing food and resource collection and distribution.

Mike’s little apartment was crowded, but we all squeezed in together, most of us sitting on the floor. Along with Mitch, Trail, Sarah and myself, there was Clyde, Mike, Eva, Lilly, Byllie and Will. We had invited Carter to join us, but he wanted to get back out to the farm after we’d finished with the day’s earlier business. As I said, we still had some logistical issues to work out. So while we ate a late lunch/early supper, we began to make our plans. In truth, our appetites weren’t that great, but we tried anyway. Will began first, addressing the girls… well, women, I guess I should say.

“I know I’m a Johnny-come-lately to all of you, but I want to make clear to everyone that I am 100% positive that what we are dealing with here is the rapture of the Church and that somehow this EMP event ties into it; although, I can’t for the life of me see how. No, no, don’t worry,” Will said, holding up his hands palms out and smiling, “I promise I’m not going to preach a sermon nor am I going to try to push anything on any of you, but I do think that we need to move forward on the assumption that this has been a global event and that even though we’ve not gotten outside confirmation of that yet, I believe that within a day or so we will.

Will then posed a question. “Haven’t you found it odd that even though the power has been on since late Monday night, there has still been a complete media blackout? Even the internet is still out as of yesterday: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube are all still down, and the only message we’ve gotten from television and radio is a sort of a ‘please stand by’ message stating only that the president will address the nation on Sunday. None of the major channels or radio stations including cable and independent alternative media are on the air. None of them have as yet begun broadcasting, at least not as of this morning. This absolutely is not normal. The story of the century – no, the story of the millennium, and NO ONE is covering it? All we are seeing is the same message on all networks announcing the president’s upcoming address. To me, this in itself is very telling,” Will said, thoughtfully. “I think the president has already done what Clyde did. I think we’re already under federally mandated martial law and that the president has, in effect, pulled the plug on all communication until after his address Sunday.”

“I’ve been thinking along those same lines too, Will,” Mitch said. “Look, I’d like to put in my 2¢ worth about these two things. I could be way wrong in my theory, but ever since the beginning I’ve thought the two events, the ‘vanishings’ and the EMP thing, were connected somehow. Since I became a believer, a Christian – even though it’s been not quite a week ago since I got saved – still, since then, I’ve become convinced that the two events are more than just connected, but that the event we are sure is the rapture actually caused or triggered what we are calling the EMP.

Most of us here are already convinced that the vanishings – the rapture – is a worldwide event. We’re merely waiting on confirmation of that, which we believe the president’s address will provide. We also know that, although the EMP event has some of the same characteristics and effects of an actual EMP, it has behaved in ways that are not what would be expected from an actual EMP. For example, it should have taken much longer for the power to return, and our cars shouldn’t be running at all – at least a good number of them shouldn’t if what we’ve always been told about the effects of an EMP are correct.

Also, when the power returned, we didn’t experience any kind of power surge that might have damaged the power grid. There should have been controlled brownouts or a gradual increase of power from the power stations, but it hasn’t been like that at all. It came back on just as if it was the kind of a short power cut we would experience during a thunderstorm.

Also, had this been just localized to Norrisville or Iverson, someone, some governmental agency, would have shown up here by now. I think all these things are why the majority of people at the meeting yesterday, those who don’t accept the possibility that this was the rapture, didn’t make more of a fuss. I think either consciously or subconsciously, they know that nothing about this situation is even remotely a natural occurrence, but that there is a supernatural element to all this, including this EMP or whatever it was. I think they also know that this is not just a local event.”

Mitch then began to tell us his theory about how this EMP is related to the rapture.

“Bear in mind that this is only conjecture on my part. I could be entirely wrong, but here’s what I think. As I read the gospels’ recounting of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus on the third day, there were two passages that leapt out at me. Granted, I’m no Bible scholar; I’m a brand-new believer who’s as ignorant of what I ought to know of Biblical doctrine as a kindergartener is clueless of trigonometry. But… well, here, let me read these two recountings of Jesus’ death and resurrection to you, then I’ll explain my thoughts.”

Mitch reached for Mike’s King James Version (KJV) Bible that was on his coffee table. Both are taken from the accounts as recorded in Matthew.

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves AFTER his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:50-54).

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:1-6).

“See, what grabbed my attention,” said Mitch, “was the deliberate mention of earthquakes in relation to both Jesus’ death and His resurrection. It’s my conjecture, although I can’t prove it, that the incredible transformative power of Jesus’ death, and particularly His resurrection, caused those earthquakes; and that if there had been electronics and such during those times, there would have been a disruption in that too, much like what we’ve experienced now. If that is so, then multiply the resurrection of multiplied billions of dead believers from the time of Calvary to the time of the rapture, and add to that the physics of the transformative power of a billion or so living believers who were instantly translated from the mortal to immortal state, and those two events— the resurrection of the believing dead along with the rapture of the living believing saints a nanosecond later—well, think about how much power such an event might affect the geomagnetic fields of the earth and the magnetosphere that surrounds the earth!” Mitch spoke excitedly, his face alight, and he used his hands to emphasize what he was saying.

 

“I’d be willing to bet that when we do get news and the internet is restored, that we’re going to find out that, in addition to the EMP-LIKE disruption, there will have been other earth disturbances such as earthquakes and other disruptions, like maybe tsunamis and/or volcanic activity since all of that is interrelated. “Besides,” Mitch continued, a bit calmer, “the Tribulation may have already begun; we can’t know yet. But if the event that will signal the last seven-year countdown hasn’t happened yet, we know that it soon will. We won’t know for sure until we hear news from Israel. I think that it is God who has brought the power back on and that He is restraining the news outlets to be kept silent and off the air until He is ready. I believe that what we are experiencing is a caesura, a pause if you will, before the Tribulation begins. I think very soon we will get news out of Israel that will tell us exactly where we are in relation to the beginning of the Tribulation – those last seven years the Bible calls “the beginning of sorrows.”

“Whooow!” whistled Will. “That’s something to consider, Mitch! You’ve just put into words what I’ve begun to instinctively believe but couldn’t articulate. “Look,” Will said, turning to address Lilly and Byllie Duncan, “I know y’all must feel like we’ve all gone nuts, but believe me, on Sunday, I do intend to explain in detail why we all think the way we do. Let me just give you a ‘heads up’ so that you can sort of know what to look for if you come.

See, with the Church… I mean the true Church, the body of believers worldwide not connected to any institution or denomination, but a corporate body of believers who all had in common their belief in Jesus Christ alone – God in human flesh, the Savior to all who would believe in Him – with that true body of believers removed from the earth, God returns His focus on earth to national Israel in order to prepare a remnant of the Jews who will come to accept Jesus as their Messiah – to prepare Israel and the entire earth to welcome Jesus back to earth as King of kings who will reign over all the earth for 1,000 years..

There’s so much more to this,” he continued, wiping his brow “but if you ladies will agree to come Sunday, I promise to lay it all out in detail. Just trust me that what we’ve all said so far is true and that Israel holds the key to what’s coming. In the next few days, if or when we do get news, watch out for news of an invasion into Israel from the Golan Heights – an invasion that will be led by Russia, Turkey, and Iran along with other nations. Look for the signing or making of a treaty with Israel by a man who will seemingly come from nowhere. He will appear to be a peacemaker and will guarantee Israel the right and the protection to rebuild her Temple. Once this man signs or confirms this covenant with Israel’s leadership, that event will begin a seven-year countdown that the Bible calls by many names, one of them being what we refer to as THE Tribulation.”

“Well, said Clyde, “you boys has give us all a lot ta ponder on, but b’fore th’ day gits away from us, we need ta make some decisions. Bobby, this may affect you an’ Sarah more’n the rest o’ us. Me an’ Mikey thank it’ll be safer, at least fer th’ short term, fer us all ta stay closer into town – even closer in than y’all are out in Briarwood, Mitch an’ Terrell, and certainly closer than you bein’ all alone out on Lickskillet Road, little lass. Lord knows we got plenty o’ houses available right around Main Street; and iff’n we gon’ try ta stay t’gether as a community, it might be in everybody’s best interest fer us all ta be livin’ closer in. Bobby, I ain’t tellin’ ya ta leave Yellow Top completely. In fact, I thank th’ wisest thang ta do is ta keep yer cabin up thar as a refuge fer when thangs git bad here in town – an’ they will, ya know. We cain’t fool arselves on that. Sooner or later, God’s judgment is gon’ land here too. But iff’n you’d be willin’ ta move closer inta town fer a spell, then th’ mountain kin be yer refuge iff’n th’ Lord sees fit ta keep it safe fer y’all.”

“Well, I’m gon’ be stayin’ out ta th’ farm,” Eva said, emphatically. “My house here’s only a street over from downtown on Railroad Street, Sarah. The name o’ th’ street is really First Street, but don’t nobody call it that. Everybody always thought that ‘First Street’ wuz a stupid name anyways. Everbody ’round here calls it Railroad Street on accounta there’s train tracks that run ’bout a hunert feet behind my house down a slope, but th’ tracks ain’t even used no more no ways. What I’m a gittin at is that I’m happy on th’ farm at Amos’ place hep’n Carter look after the livestock an’ workin’ the fields. I ain’t openin’ the diner back up. Ain’t nobody gon’ need a diner, but we are gon’ need food. My house is a big ole two-storey ramblin’ thang. All th’ rooms is big rooms, and th’ four bedrooms upstairs’re all big too. Iff’n any o’ y’all want ta move in thar, jest let me move out the rest o’ m’clothes first, an y’all kin have it, lock, stock, an’ barrel.”

“Eva, that’s one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard anyone offer,” said Sarah, warmly. “I’ll be honest; I wasn’t looking forward to going all the way back out to Danny’s house to stay by myself. Besides,” she said with a sigh, “I was only supposed to be here for a couple of weeks anyway, so I only have two weeks’ worth of clothes with me. I don’t know what I’m going to wear when these fall off me.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Lilly. Eying Sarah critically, she continued, “You and I look to be about the same size. You’re shorter than I am by a few inches, but we can always hem pants. Also, I have about a zillion pairs of scrubs and office outfits,” Lilly said with a wink. “I never could pass up a cute set of scrubs.”

“Sarah,” Byllie chimed in, “I am an inch or so shorter than my twin; so between us and whatever other clothes we find when we inventory the town, we’ll have you a whole new wardrobe within a week. And please do take some of those 20,000 pairs of scrubs Lilly’s got cluttering up every closet in our house,” Byllie said, with mock seriousness. “She has at least a dozen pair of them with the tags still on!”

“Since both you Duncan girls live out in Briarwood, would y’all consider movin’ closer inta town too?” asked Mike? “Meybe, all three o’ y’all gals could share Eva’s house? It’d be a whole sight safer.”

After a short discussion, it was decided that all three girls would indeed move into Eva King’s house; that Eva would move out to Amos Brazele’s farm; and that Mitch, Trail and I would move into Doc Barnett’s house which was a street over from Eva’s on Walnut Street. Doc Barnett’s house is a huge old Victorian that had been in his family for generations. His clinic was a five-room suite of exam rooms downstairs with the little pharmacy located in the back. Upstairs were his living quarters which featured a small kitchen, a den or parlor, and four good-sized bedrooms.

Even though there was a small pharmacy there in the clinic, most people got their prescriptions filled at either the CVS or the Rite Aid in Iverson anyway. Doc Barnett did keep some prescription drugs on hand but they were mostly varying kinds of antibiotics, insulin compounds and some heart medications. He kept very little in the way of prescription pain meds, but the medical supplies for the clinic were surprisingly well stocked, Trail was pleased to find. We decided to remove the clinic and pharmacy signs from in front of our new house. Everybody in the area who lived around here already knew where the clinic was, but we didn’t want outsiders coming in and finding out the house was a clinic. We wanted to make it look like any other old house.

None of us were exactly happy to be moving and uprooting our lives, least of all me, even if it might only be a temporary thing. I wanted more than anything to be back up on Yellow Top working in my shop, refinishing a dresser that would now never be needed. Still, we knew that Clyde was right. This quiet period of what? grace – Mitch’s cesura – the short calm before the storm for us here? Whatever it was, we knew it wouldn’t last much longer. Eventually trouble would come, and my cabin on Yellow Top would be our last refuge—our sanctuary—our go-to place when we needed it.

CHAPTER 18

We spent the next week helping the girls move into Eva’s, then helping Mitch and Trail get their clothes and all Mitch’s computer stuff (he has a ton of it) moved into what would be our new home in town. When we went back out to Lickskillet Road to get Sarah’s few clothes, and to get one of her brother’s cars for her to drive, we stopped by David’s and loaded up all his guns, his fishing and camping gear, the rest of his clothes, some of his pots and pans and other assorted stuff, plus a few more of his books. As we got ready to leave, Mitch and I gave Trail the keys to David’s jeep.

“Trail, trust me on this,” I said, handing him the keys. “David would be happy as a bee in clover to know that you can now scrap forever that half-dead piece of junk you’ve been driving. I mean… really, Trail, even David couldn’t have kept that dying hunk of scrap metal you drive going for much longer. I’ll bet if he can see us from Heaven right now, I’ll just bet he’s busting a gut laughing at the irony of you ending up with his jeep!”

“What about that old thing you drive?” said Trail, laughing. He was actually delighted to have David’s jeep.

“Trail,” I said, placing my hands on his shoulders, “I mean this sincerely; what you obviously do not get is that my Bertha is a classic. She is a grand old dame who exudes class, style, and Southern charm. Your old hunk of junk, on the other hand, is a blight on the face of automobiledom. Your sorry Ford is the automotive equivalent of roadkill. Bertha will be just fine. Take David’s jeep, please,” I begged. Mitch and I were both laughing.

“Automobiledom, yo’ mama!” said Trail.

“That’s right. It’s a real word; I just made it one. Besides, Big Bertha is named in honor of YO’ Mama!”

We were all laughing then. It felt good to laugh. We weren’t sure how much longer laughter would be a part of our lives in the future.

And that, dear Journal, is how we’ve ended up full circle. Early Friday morning, the 25th of October, a few weeks after the rapture happened, my two friends and I drove back up to my home on Yellow Top Mountain. We brought David’s guns up here for safe-keeping for the time being, planning only to return to town with his Glock, one rifle and a shotgun for me. I debated about taking my Grandpa’s 1911 Colt back with me, but decided against it. David’s Glock would do, and I didn’t want to risk anything happening to the 1911. Mitch and Trail have their guns. I’ll leave the rest of mine and David’s hidden carefully away in the cabin till I come back – if or when I ever do.

We decided to spend one last weekend together like in the old days, except that neither David nor Harp were here with us. We know exactly where David is; and although we miss him, we have complete peace knowing we’ll see him again in seven years max, if not before. But we have no clue where Jack Harper might be or whether he is alive or dead. Truth is, we may never know.

We three spent all day Friday fishing. We caught us a big mess of mountain trout that we took out of the big tributary of the French Broad River that runs through my property. The day was a perfect autumn day. The sun was out, and the sky was that perfect sharp blue that belongs to autumn in the North Carolina mountains. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky up on Yellow Top. The air was cool but took on a bite as sharp as a Winesap apple when the sun began to dip behind the mountain.

Before it got dark, I went down to the creek to clean out all that stuff in the cooler that I’d stored before I rode into N’ville that first Sunday after the rapture. I was just now getting around to dealing with that cooler I’d left in the creek. I did this while Mitch and Trail cleaned and fileted the fish. As the sun lowered in the sky, we built a fire in the outside fire pit and cooked those trout to perfection over an open fire in Grandma’s cast-iron frying pan. We cooked them with a bit of butter and garnished them with some dill and a little lemon juice. We roasted a dozen ears of fresh corn that Eva had sent back with us and baked some potatoes that Mike had given us, slathering them with more of Eva’s fresh-churned butter. It was a meal fit for a king. It was almost like old times.

We spent that weekend securing the cabin, packing a few of my winter clothes, and finding good hiding places for the rest of my guns. I packed David’s Glock and one each of his shotguns and rifles, plus the ammo for each to take back with me. I packed my cell phone, iPad and laptop in Bertha’s trunk along with the few clothes I was taking. I left most of my clothes here since I had David’s full wardrobe that fit me.

In the evenings, over that last weekend before I left the mountain and moved into town, I spent many long hours recording the events of these past few weeks into this journal. I’m finding out as I write that I can’t write about it all – not yet. My mind and my heart need a break. I will record everything though just as soon as we get set up in town. But for the majority of this weekend, I, we all simply wanted to pretend that… with the exception of our salvation… we wanted to block out the horrors of the last couple of weeks. For these three days here on the mountain, we wanted to pretend that the world was like it was before October 3rd. For just the next few days, all I wanted was to sit on my porch, looking out over the mountain I love so much and pretending that this is just another weekend spent with my buddies: fishing, cooking supper over an open fire, and sitting on the porch. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have the bunch of us already saved believers then! But of course, we were fools.

There’ll be time enough to set down the rest of October’s dreadful news when I get settled in town, Journal. For now, just for this weekend, let me pretend that the world is still the way it was before.

We didn’t bring up the events of the past month, not one time. The only difference in our routine was that now we had Bible study and prayer together every evening while we were here, something we surely would never have done before the rapture and before our salvation. But other than that, by some unspoken agreement, we talked about anything and everything except what has happened. We laughed a lot and relaxed a lot too. The closest we got to speaking of the events of October was Mitch telling me that once I got caught up with the journal entries telling about the events of October, that he’d put them into his computer on a thumb drive to have as a backup. That’s a good plan – to have a backup, I mean. It would certainly be easier for me to type all this out instead of filling up journals writing by hand, even though my typing speed is not nearly as fast or as accurate as Mitch’s is.

But see, there’s something that’s been happening to me too. I’ve said before that I was beginning to notice different facets of the people I’ve known my whole life – people like Clyde and Big Mike. I’ve also mentioned that I’ve been watching Mitch and Trail change too. Most of these changes I know are a result of God’s changing us all from the inside out. But it’s more than that too, I think. It’s like He’s also adapting and preparing us for the horrors that are now facing us – preparing and equipping us to do what He wants us to do for as long as He allows us to live.

At that first town meeting back on October 9th, I saw a new confidence – a new level of maturity in Trail as he addressed, organized, and carried out the grisly but necessary task of removing the dead. I saw a stronger Mitch stand before the whole assembled town and speak with authority, maturity, and skill. And although I didn’t know him before the rapture – apparently by his own testimony – Will Farrell has become a completely changed man overnight; a man whose single focus is to become the pastor/preacher he always should have been.

Then there’s me. What about me? I’m just a simple country boy – a woodworker/cabinetmaker. I only have a high school education. I’m not a forward thinker like Mitch or a caregiver like Trail. I’m not a leader like Clyde or a resource manager like Mike. But have I changed too, in other ways besides my salvation? The answer to that is…yes; I think I have. You see, Journal, I was only ever an average B student in high school – nothing remarkable at all, especially in English. But ever since the rapture, I seem to have acquired the desire and gained the ability to write. I find that I have become a scribe.

Perhaps it is now my calling for as long as God allows me, to archive and record the events of the Tribulation as they unfold here in tiny Norrisville, North Carolina. For what possible reason, I can’t begin to know. But if I am called to write, then write I will, wherever I am for as long as I’m able; and one more thing, Journal: I’m going to continue to write these entries by hand in notebooks instead of on the computer. I feel the need to preserve them in written form. I don’t know why.

As we had by now found out, the beginning of the Tribulation was right at hand. The first horseman of Revelation 6 had begun to ride forth “conquering and to conquer.” We got our confirmation Sunday night, October 13, when the news stations finally came back on the air, and we found out what had happened worldwide during the week after the rapture. This was followed by all the earth-shattering events that occurred over the next few weeks. Mitch was right about the earthquakes and the devastation. The string of events that occurred all over the world those last few weeks in October have been far worse than we ever could have imagined; and this was only the beginning.

TO BE CONTINUED…

alice.joan.childs@gmail.com